Clements wins Pearland Rotary tournament

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, December 5, 2000

Clements remained undefeated for the season as the Rangers defeated Cy Springs 77-57 in the championship game of the Pearland Rotary Round Ball Classic Tournament.

Pearland served as the host team in the tournament and Oilers Coach Steve Buckelew was very happy with the way the tournament was run by Pearland Rotary.

"In 21 years of coaching college and high school basketball I have never seen a better run tournament," said Buckelew. "It was a great basketball, the tournament was so organized and we are looking to expand it next year."

Ducanville beat Austin Westlake 51-42 in the third place game as Laramie Mergeerson scored 13 points and Jason Morris added 12 and Anthony Alexander had 11. Ryan Hatch scored 15 to lead Westlake while Brad Buckman added 11.

Cy Springs reached the championship game with a thrilling 77-72 win over Westlake as the Eagles held off a late rally by the Chaps. Brandon Weasby paced Cy Springs with 21 points while Karon Bradley had 19 and Matt Shiree added 17. Buckman paced Westlake with 24 points and Erik Steenken scored 14.

Clements advanced to the finals with a balanced attack in a 73-59 win over Ducanville. The Rangers outscored Ducanville in every quarter and led 39-30 at halftime. Clements won the first quarter 18-10, the second quarter 21-20, the third quarter 12-11 and the final eight minutes 22-18.

Pearland, with one of the smallest teams in the Class 5A, played hard, but went 0-3 in the tournament. Coach Steve Buckelew's Oilers lost their first game 56-49 to Austin Westlake as Hatch broke open a close game with a big third quarter. The teams were tied at 27 at halftime, but Hatch scored 15 points in the third quarter to give the Chap a 10 point lead.

"Hatch is really an outstanding player and a great scorer," said Buckelew. "I looked at the film after the game and he scored every point for them in the third quarter."

In their second game Pearland lost a 58-56 heartbreaker to Midland. The last time the two teams played was in the state tournament two years ago. Pearland was led by Shamusy Balogun with 12 points while Devin Spinks added 11 and Brian Harvey had 10.

"That game came down to the last shot for both teams and the difference was they made theirs and we didn't," said Buckelew. "I really saw some things that I liked about the way we played and even though we are small we hung in there."

Pearland trailed 14-11 after the first quarter, but came back with a strong second quarter to take a 31-27 lead at halftime. The Oilers outscored Midland 20-13 in the second quarter, but lost the third 20-11.

The Oilers trailed 47-42 going into the final quarter, but Midland held off a late Pearland rally to take the two point win. Pearland won the final quarter 14-11, but Jarvis Brown and Anthony Jackson came up with key baskets for Midland. Brown was the leading scorer for Midland with 19 points while Jackson had 12 and Lucquente White finished with 12.

Pearland played San Antonio Taft in their third game and the Oilers lost by nine to the Tigers. Pearland trailed 12-5 after the first quarter, but outscored Taft 10-8 as San Antonio led 20-15 at halftime.

The two teams each scored 12 points in the third quarter, but San Antonio put the game away with a 20-14 run in the final quarter. Doug Vybrial led Pearland 1-5 with eight points while Darnell Smith led the way for 6-4 Taft with 13 points.

Pearland Harvey won the three point shooting contest and was also named to the all tournament teams. Buckelew was pleased with his performance and with the showing of all of the teams.

"Brian did a real good job for us and we were pleased that he won the shooting contest," said Buckelew. "All of the coaches at the tournament were excited and want to come back next year. They all said that the tournament was nothing but first class and they are looking forward to next year."